Migraine is considered to be a multifactorial disorder in which genetic, environmental, and, in the case of menstrual and menstrually related migraine, hormonal events influence the phenotype. Certainly, the role of female sex hormones in migraine has been well established, yet the mechanism behind this well-known relationship remains unclear. This review focuses on the potential role of hormonally related genes in migraine, summarizes results of candidate gene studies to date, and discusses challenges and issues involved in interpreting hormone-related gene results. In light of the molecular evidence presented, we discuss future approaches for analysis with the view to elucidate the complex genetic architecture that underlies the disorder.

Copyright 2010 Current Medicine Group LLC. Published by Springer. This is an electronic version of an article published in Current Pain and Headache Reports, Volume 14, Number 5, 389-395. Current Pain and Headache Reports is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ with the open URL of your article.